Israeli army enforces punitive closure of Jenin-area town

Dec. 6, 2017 1:43 P.M. (Updated: Dec. 6, 2017 9:41 P.M.)

Israeli soldiers stop a Palestinian woman in the Palestinian side of the city of Hebron, on March 27, 2013. (AFP, File)

JENIN (Ma'an) -- Israeli army forces have temporarily closed off the entrance to a Jenin-area town in the northern occupied West Bank, allegedly in response to shots fired at an Israeli settler bus near the village.

Official Palestinian Authority (PA)-owned Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces used dirt mounds to block the western entrance to the town of Yaabad and the entrances to two homes in the village.

Wafa reported that the entrances to the homes of Abdullah Khatib and Naser Abu Bakr were closed off.

Meanwhile, soldiers reportedly raided homes in Yaabad using search dogs, and seized several surveillance cameras in the area.

Wafa reported that soldiers also also closed the gate leading to another village near Yaabad and set up two checkpoints in the area, allowing only residents to pass through.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that “following a shooting at an Israeli bus adjacent to village, crossings and passages for Palestinians from the village will be permitted only after security checks and for humanitarian reasons.”

Israel often enforces punitive measures, including closures, raids, and permit revocations, on entire Palestinian towns and villages for things such as stone throwing and alleged attacks on Israeli forces.

Rights groups have condemned such practices as “collective punishment.”